Will there finally be an Exit 3?

By TIM O'BRIEN Staff writer

Published 12:00 am, Tuesday, March 29, 2011

COLONIE -- Capital Region residents may get a look later this year at new design plans for Exit 3 on the Northway, but don't expect to be driving on it anytime soon.

Since it opened a half-century ago, the Northway has jumped from Exit 2 to Exit 4. A new exit to ease traffic flow to the Albany County International Airport has often been discussed, but never was built. State officials insist this time is different.

A meeting originally set for Wednesday has been postponed until a date to be determined in April.

"The town of Colonie will soon be meeting with New York state DOT to discuss various design options," Supervisor Paula Mahan said in a prepared statement. "We appreciate the opportunity to work with DOT on this project. I believe that the end result will have significant benefits for both the town and the region."

Sara Wiest, a spokeswoman for the town, said Mahan had yet to see the options.

The cost could range from $22 million to $40 million, Breen said.

On DOT's website, a time line says construction could begin in 2013 and end in 2015. Breen said those dates should now be moved back at least a year.

The page also details six options -- including doing nothing or making design changes to the current roads. Breen said those options are concepts that have been modified. An updated version will be published after the April meeting, she said.

The department aims to narrow the choices down to two for public comment.

In 1999, 2001 and 2007, the state held forums to review design ideas after a $3.6 million study was begun in 1994. Six years before that, the idea of creating a special tax district to pay for the road was floated. In 1986, a three-year study by the Capital District Transportation Committee concluded the exit was needed "by the 1995-2000 time frame at the latest."

"It has been a work in progress, but we are trying to move forward," Breen said. "We are asking the communities to be patient with us."